The Future

source: The Future

First, I just have to state how highly amusing I find it that SO many people tear this movie apart for 1. "trying too hard to be artsy and cool for hipsters without actually having any real purpose or plot" (just as they did with her first film) and 2. "Too depressing...just horrible". If it depressed you, especially THAT intensely, that shows that the film was HIGHLY EFFECTIVE - that does not mean it is a bad film and deserves 1 star out of 10! If it made you feel sad, that means the film has accomplished something! The film is simply not for you! As far as finding the movie to be trying too hard, well that's more left up for interpretation - but for me I find Miranda July's scenarios and dialogue to be very genuine and straight from the heart, a lot of it makes me laugh and a lot of it I can relate with. Just because Miranda is not afraid to ignore all the rules and take her films wherever she feels like taking them does not mean that she is trying too hard does it? A lot of people come out of this movie feeling sad and confused. But, I can honestly say there was not a single scene in the movie I felt confused about. There was a lot of extremely creative imagery and conceptual stuff, but it was all relative to the PLOT (YES, THERE WAS A PLOT - LIFE CATCHING UP ON US AND BITING US IN THE BUTT WHEN WE'RE LEAST EXPECTING IT? that's a pretty simple summary that works just fine). I related emotionally to a few scenes specifically, especially the one with Hamish Linklater outside by the ocean - I thought it was a perfect metaphorical representation of an emotional phase I cannot discuss otherwise it would be a spoiler! So basically, the film has a lot to offer, but it's quiet and abstract. If you're not open to art and scenarios that are left up to you to interpret, then don't watch the movie - but aside from that, the film really has a lot to offer and a lot to relate about. Good stuff, Miranda. I am a fan. Keep doing what you're doing, please.

Really!!!!?? A newly married couple in their mid 30's lack the slightest hint of responsibility to remember to pick up a cat!?! Which, I willing add, had marked on their calender! Do they even remember to pay their bills on time? Oh wait, probably not, since call-center boy quit his JOB to "live in the moment". You know, to prepare himself for the excruciatingly crushing commitment of looking after an animal for a few years. Oh, lets no forget the dancing girls idea of living the month like its her last...Yeah, getting bent over a couch by someone old enough to be her father while the sick daughter naps in the other room, but I digress. The only, and I mean ONLY redeeming quality this film had was they separate in the end. Glad they never reproduced since obviously THAT would be a horrible mistake. By the way, I still feel sorry for Paw Paw, whose role was the only reason I watched this garbage through its entirety...

What really is the future? I mean time is relative. And I'm not trying to be philosophical about it or anything and it wouldn't really matter for the movie. It is more about insecurities and dreams and hopes. And ... well being lost. While all that is fine and the movie has some very fine visuals (and some strange humor, which I think is good), it failed to really impress me. Don't get me wrong this is a movie that from the start will not interest many people as it is. The weird characters will be appalling to quite a few and the fact that there is nothing real glamorous to be found, won't make it a big hit either. But our main actress (who also has many other jobs in the making of this movie) is a driving force. And she almost completely won me over. While she captured many things perfectly, I still feel like something is missing to make it spectacular. But you have to watch it for yourself to make up your mind ... just don't quit your day job ... ;o)

This comment has spoilers in it. This is my first ever comment about a movie at IMDb, or otherwise. I like movies about animals, so I watched this on the basis of the printed synopsis. Well the movie is not about the cat. That is too bad because the cat is the only intelligent character in the movie ( what little you get to see of it ). The other characters are so ignorant that they forget to get the cat out of the pound before its death due date. Actually, I guess the cat was fortunate to die peacefully and painlessly. The morons that were going to adopt it would have forgotten to feed it and it would have starved to death. This was such a stupid and pointless piece of ****. It was pure drudgery to sit through. You keep hoping the idiots would go get the cat and the bleakness and emptiness of the film would brighten and fill with---something---anything. It just gets bleaker and more empty and pointless. The cat was the only possibility of some sort of salvation for the movie. Instead we are left with an ending where the two vacuum headed characters reunite. I am sorry, I just cannot find enough bad words to properly express how bad this trite **** was. If I used the words that it deserves, my comment would be removed.

Hmmm...the summary title says it all. Not quite sure what this film is saying or trying to stimulate you into thinking about: lack of purpose in modern life, the small actions on which lasting love lives or dies, how much of ourselves do we show to each other, emotional paralysis in an atomised first world, the value of human connection above all else, is man designed to run on any other fuel than god, artistic frustration and how beautiful creation can take place as much in your living room as the main stage at the Met, people looking for a place in a senseless world instead of just getting on and helping people... On the downside the dialogue and some of the acting is of the low-burn, snail pace that can destroy any sense of mood or tension...but on the upside there are perhaps 10 moments of absolute beauty, each worth admission alone, and Miranda July is an open wound of a screen presence. And I'm still thinking about the end and all the bits in between. Personally I'm prepared to be slightly confused when I come out highly affected and thinking...

So, I need to stop watching these so-called "art" films. They inevitably make me hate them, no matter what the supposed subject materiel is. This, I think is why I have a problem with them: They are uniformly marketed as something other than what they are. In the case of "The Future", the synopsis is this: "When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves." It's also billed as a scifi movie, and the synopsis seems to support that. It all sounds quite interesting, right? Wrong! This movie doesn't deserve to wear the label scifi. There's no science in it and the only fiction is in the horribly bad marketing. So I should blame the distributors for how bad this movie is, I guess? Wrong! The blame for this mess really needs to lie with Miranda July. I've never come across her work before and now, I guarantee I'll never do so again. Writer, Actor, Director. She's all those things in this movie and it shows.... Shows that some people should stick to one thing and not try to Doc Savage their life and be fantastic at everything, because, quite frankly, she isn't up to the jobs. The writing is childish because the characters are intensely unlikeable. I suspect that may be the point - to make the audience hate them, but making unlikeable characters only accomplishes one thing in any form of storytelling - to alienate the audience. Once you've done that, it doesn't matter what the rest of the story is about, because the viewer just doesn't care. Her acting is also weak. I understand this was her vision and by donning all these hats she got to make it how she wanted, but damn! As far as entertainment goes, this wasn't so much of a dropped ball as more of a ball punted into the distance off a cliff! It's pretentious nonsense full of "clever" symbolism, using the cat as a kind of conscience for the characters. However, the two characters could never exist in reality because of their inherent flaws. They would never succeed at anything, even surviving to adulthood would be beyond them! To call them ineffectual would be liking suggesting that a saucepan made out of chocolate would be fantastic! And, like that saucepan, the characters would not last long. There's nothing here that fits the traditional role of a movie. I'm beginning to suspect that film isn't a proper medium for such efforts. Whether that will dissuade Ms. July from further stunningly boring efforts to make a point to an audience that mostly just wants to be entertained is anyone's guess. I doubt it. It also galls me that scifi (my favourite genre) is being saddled by these movies since it allows the writer/director to apparently throw any crazy sh*t at the screen and hope it sticks. That isn't what scifi is about! All in all, if you are looking for an entertaining movie, don't stop here! You'll be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you are looking to throw away ninety minutes of your existence in an unsatisfying endeavour, I would suggest going to the coast and commanding the rising tide to turn back would be more fruitful than watching this "film". And now, in the interest of balanced reporting... SUMMARY FOR ART LOVERS: A wonderful exploration of the neuroses of two desperately unhappy people, with commentary by their cat. Woot! SUMMARY FOR NORMAL FILM-GOERS: Unsatisfying, pretentious drivel featuring hateful characters and leading to a frustrating and deeply annoying end. Trim your toe nails instead.

I'm not an unintelligent person, but I just didn't get this at all! Did the cat get put to sleep, or did it die? Why would she just ring a stranger and go round to his home? Why was he so wishy washy, same for her. Do such characters exist in real life? Do veterinary hospitals keep a cat with a sore paw for a month? Where does the money to make such junk come from? Save the film, time etc and send it straight to me, as i can think of much more useful things to use it for. Oh, and please, can I have my 90 minutes back?...NOW! I feel The Future is one of those artsy tedious films that make you regret sitting around for 90 minutes, waiting for something exciting to happen, only to have the realisation the you've lost that time. Unlike a Type-Moon anime, where you expect a sad ending, with a satisfactory conclusion this was so open ended, I can still feel the wind blowing through it. What really happened.

Any audience member who has seen a previous Miranda July film knows what they are in for if they go to another one. July loves silly and awkward conversations which spring out of thin air and make her characters seem quirky. If you love quirky and oddball then Miranda July is the filmmaker for you. However, July is one of those filmmakers who do not have much a gray area when it comes to reactions. Movie goers either love her or cannot stand her. July's latest film is The Future. Sophie (July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) have been in a relationship for four years and live together in Los Angeles. They have steady jobs, her as a dance teacher for kids and him in the IT sector. One day, this couple makes a huge decision; they decide to adopt a cat. Yes, for this couple, this is a gigantic and tortuous decision. The cat is hurt and in a veterinary hospital so they much wait for one month before than can bring him home. Also, the cat has a speaking role. Miranda July supplies its voice-over narration. If you have seen a previous July film, this will not surprise you in the least. Sophie and Jason now believe they have one month of freedom left. Once the cat arrives, everything will change; they will have responsibility, they will grow old, and then they will die. One month. Therefore, they quit their jobs and follow their individual quests not so much for self improvement or to follow their dreams, but to follow whatever happens to cross their path. I will stop the synopsis there so as to give away any of the more odd and yes, quirky, plot turns. I really enjoyed July's last film, Me and You and Everyone We Know. It was a pleasant blend of dialogue and original filmmaking. The Future is not quite as enjoyable because now I am waiting for the next awkward and quirky conversation to start. Another overarching and enjoyable element to a July film is a sense of depression and melancholy which the characters have. They are neither steadily happy nor sad, but it looks like they feel some sort of weight in their otherness. Sophie and Jason are not like a normal couple. They play silly games like pretending to stop time and agree on a song they would play if one of them lost their entire memory. Sometimes there can be too much quirky and even for what is a simple film, July can get a bit too symbolic and the audience might miss a metaphor or three. However, some of scenes are quite amusing to watch and this film is a breath of fresh air from superhero extravaganzas and anything you find at the local 34 screen multiplex.

i do not understand how this movie could rate over a 6 for anyone. i saw it with my boyfriend and we both were tortured throughout the duration of this awful film. we wish we could get the hour and a half (which seemed a lot longer)of our lives back. i rented this movie from a red box so, at least i don't feel too cheated. it is definitely this worst movie he and i have ever seen. it raises more questions then answers. the acting is the only thing good about this movie if you can find something good about it. it is also extremely slow and depressing. it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth scratching your head. it has and open ended plot, story, and ending. i think we were more miserable after it ended then we were watching it. if you want to avoid a bad movie this would be it!